When staff go that extra mile for you or your clients, you may want to reward their efforts. But it’s not always simple to figure out what is appreciated — or even appropriate. A cash bonus always fits, but a more creative gift can hold more meaning.

Here are some ways you can reward staff for a job well done:

1. Do your research.
Know your employee’s likes and dislikes before you choose a gift.

Jeanette Brox, a certified financial planner with Investors Group Inc. in Toronto, considered giving a past assistant a spa gift certificate to thank her for her efforts. She found that the prospective recipient didn’t like to be touched.

“She had had a bad experience,” Brox says. “That’s why it’s important to learn a bit about the employee’s personality.”

2. Put it in writing.
Don’t underestimate the power of a personal letter that thanks someone, in a meaningful way, for their efforts, advises Shannon Waller, director of new program development and team program coach at Strategic Coach in Toronto.

“A sincere thank-you goes a long way,” she says. A note should not only genuinely thank the staff member but it should also connect their work to the big picture, she adds: “Explain how the employee’s actions help the business.”

These notes are often keepsakes because they mean so much to the recipient, she adds.

3. Create a memory.
While gift cards are rarely unappreciated, it’s not a bad idea to try to do something a little extra when the holiday season rolls around. Waller recalls one advisor who, each year, takes his staff to the local mall so that they can shop, on his dime, for Christmas items for a local family-in-need.

“They wrap the presents together and deliver them. Afterwards, they all go out for a nice dinner,” she says.

Another advisor takes his staff for an afternoon at the mall, presents each with generous mall gift certificates and insists that they buy something for themselves.

4. Get personal.
When Brox was looking for a way to thank an assistant, she noted that this person was a self-described “foodie.” On a trip to Italy, she went out of her way to find her a bottle of aged balsamic vinegar — something that wasn’t available in Canada.

“She was thrilled,” Brox says. “You go the extra mile for me; I will go the extra mile for you — in Rome!”

5. Give them time.
Time off can be the most appreciated reward for hard work, according to Waller. Some managers like the idea of taking a staff member out to lunch and then telling them to take the rest of the day off. Others prefer to give their staff some time to plan ahead for their time.

A gift card from a favourite restaurant and spa — and permission to take the day off to enjoy these experiences — is always appreciated, Waller says.

She advises against actually booking the staff member’s treatments or meal, however. “That can seem too controlling,” she says. “It is their day after all.”

IE